


Looking Forward to the Future

by YukiYashaH



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: F/M, Pregnancy, being scared of being parents ofc, dimileth, i love them
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-13
Updated: 2019-08-13
Packaged: 2020-08-20 21:07:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,101
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20234371
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/YukiYashaH/pseuds/YukiYashaH
Summary: Neither Dimitri nor Byleth had good thoughts regarding childbirth – their mothers had died giving birth to them, after all. And yet… they couldn’t help but feel the bubbling happiness of finding out they would be parents themselves.





	Looking Forward to the Future

Byleth couldn’t say that she led the healthiest life around – she preached on how to take good care of oneself and how to take proper breaks… But she hardly ever did it for herself.

It was no wonder that she had been feeling sick for quite a while now, but being so lightheaded she almost fainted? _That_ had been a first. Now that she amassed the positions of both Queen of the Unified Kingdom of Faerghus and Archbishop of the new Church of Seiros, Byleth had her work cleanly cut out for her. A lot of it.

Regardless, startled by her blink of consciousness, a soldier brought her to the infirmary whence the former professor Manuela held the highest position of Chief Physician inside the castle.

“Oh my, that’s an interesting color you have on your face, Your Majesty! Do sit down before you throw it up all over the place, please.” Was how Manuela welcomed her former colleague and now Queen, smiling while she looked for the proper tools to start the examination. “Now, tell me how you’re feeling. And don’t hide a single detail, hm?”

Byleth slowly curled up into a ball of misery over one of the beds, her breath shallow. “I feel so sick I could- ughh…”

Manuela gasped, quickly flinging a washbasin to the floor right beside Byleth’s bed. “Try not to make a mess, please! Take your time in explaining, dear, and don’t force yourself. I’ll be here patting your back very, very lovingly until you feel better.”

“Ugh, I feel even sicker now.” Byleth gurgled a laugh under her sickness, holding the basin as though it were her own child, ready to vomit inside of it at any moment. Manuela threw her head back in laughter.

“The nerve!”

After the good half of an hour passed, Byleth started to feel better. She managed to sit up on the bed, the color of her skin still a bit off, but much better than before. Wasting no time, the Queen started explaining her symptoms, fully aware that they were due to stress and exhaustion, but nevertheless wanting the opinion of a professional on the field.

The more she explained, the brighter Manuela’s eyes shone, her smile turning into a huge, unsettling grin.

“And you have a history of missing periods for this long?” She asked here and there as the twirled her long smoking pipe with one hand, fiercely taking notes with the other. “My, I’m afraid I have quite the news for you, dear…”

Frowning, Byleth opened her mouth to protest, but was interrupted by a loud bang, followed by a thunderous cracking sound. Startled, both women turned to the door only to find it hanging by only two hinges, its handle nowhere to be seen.

Ah, no, wait. The handle was still in Dimitri’s hand, who had rushed to the infirmary once he had heard his wife had collapsed, not paying attention to keep his strength in check. Huffing and disheveled, the King looked from the physician to his wife.

“Are- I heard that you collapsed-” he panted, meaning to walk towards her, but Manuela’s laughter made him flinch out of his skin.

“What an entrance, Your Majesty! Was breaking the door to my infirmary not worth of an apology?”

Blinking, Dimitri looked from the door to where he stood, then to how he still firmly gripped the broken handle within his fingers. “I, uh-” realization started to sink in, making him blush, “forgive me for my manners, I shall have it, well, replaced within the week.” He cleared his throat, walking towards the bed Byleth sat on, meaning to sit right beside her. “More importantly, what has happened?”

Watching Dimitri change his behavior entirely was always so amusing to Manuela: first, he was so flustered and worried he quite literally ran through the door, then turned to red with embarrassment Manuela had to blink and then wore a worried and fulfilling smile as he sat beside his wife, his eyes deep with worry.

“Well, now that you’re here, it’s gonna be much easier to give my diagnosis!” She winked to the couple, who turned their attention to her.

“Diag-” Dimitri started, but Manuela’s pointing her long smoking pipe right into his face made him stop himself.

“Congratulations, Your Majesties!” She pointed it to Byleth, “you’re pregnant!”

“Pre-” both Dimitri and Byleth choked on the word, yet another loud cracking sound breaking the silence like a thunder.

Widening her eyes, Manuela once again looked at the King’s hand only to find that the remains of the handle he somehow still held turned to dust into his surprised grip.

“Pregnant- Byle- I-” Dimitri blabbered, his eye unfocused as his hand shook as it tried to control its strength.

Byleth silently brought one hand over her stomach, resting another one by Dimitri’s right hand. She looked down as her heart thumped and her mouth ran dry.

Pregnancy.

A child.

Hers and Dimitri’s.

Blinking, Byleth couldn’t understand how she received such blessed and wonderful news with dread inside her chest. What was it?

“Is that a… sentence?” Dimitri blurted out under his breath, his grim thoughts taking over the happiness he was supposed to feel. Would he have to lose yet another precious person of his? There was no way he could simply be happy to have a family of his own – undeserving as he was, there had to have some kind of exchange for such joy.

Byleth breathed in slowly, closing her eyes. So that was it… so that was how she felt.

“What?” Her brow furrowed, Manuela leaned over to listen more closely. “A sentence, Your Majesty?”

Snapping out of it, Dimitri quickly raised his chin, “I! No- of course not! This is a happy moment, yes? I should not be thinking such terrible thoughts- Everything will be fine, will it not? Indeed!”

“It’s… fine, Dimitri.” Byleth squeezed his hand in hers, needing its warmth. “I can’t say I haven’t had the exact same thought as you just did.”

Manuela crossed her arms and legs in annoyance. “Will you two lovebirds stop with the telepathy and tell me what’s going on?”

“Hah,” Byleth chuckled before lifting her gaze to her former colleague. “I suppose it can be silly to someone with a… lot of life experience,” she started.

“Well, that’s a nice way to insult someone, but go on.” The physician rolled her eyes.

Clearing her throat, Byleth felt the minimal squeeze Dimitri gave on her hand as support, leaning on his shoulder to feel it even more deeply. “The both of us, well, we don’t have many examples of what to look forward to during childbirth – in fact, we only have one. Our mothers died giving birth to us.”

“Ahh, I see it now. No need to go on, darling. I’ve got the picture.” Manuela took a long whiff of her smoking pipe. “So now you’re holding yourself back from feeling happy about your own child because you think you’ll die when it’s time to deliver?”

Both King and Queen lowered their gazes to their shared handhold.

“Humph, you insult me!” Manuela bonked the both of them with the round end of her smoking pipe, making them snap their heads up to look at her. “I never once lost a mother during the delivery, and I am no stranger to such things, I’ll have you know! No one will die on my watch, darling, so don’t go on worrying your little heads about it, okay? Besides, you are not your mother, dear Byleth. You’re so much stronger than that, it’ll take much more than a single childbirth to bring you down!”

Byleth opened her mouth to retort, but the icy grip of dread started to melt inside her heart, making her unable to speak. She lowered her head once again, digging her face into Dimitri’s mantle. “Can I… truly be happy about this?”

Dimitri felt a lump grow in his throat, his breathing shallow. Manuela winked.

“Of course, dear. Both of you can. It’s a wonderful time for a parent to prepare for their little bundle of joy to come to the world, so enjoy it to your heart’s content. Now, where’s that smile we all love?”

Byleth pressed her lips into a thin line, trying not to grin like a fool. She dug her face even deeper into Dimitri’s cloak, sneaking her hand through his waist to start a hug. Trembling, the King reciprocated the gesture, his eye burning with emotion. Was it alright for him to hope? To look forward to a future whence he had _both_ Byleth and his child?

To anticipate being with his beloved through _and_ after her term; to carry their crying child and soothe them to sleep; to watch over their growth alongside Byleth and see them grow up in a land free of war and oppression…

Was he really that fortunate? Could he- could he simply… enjoy the moment?

“Don’t cry, Dimitri…” Byleth whispered by his neck, his silent, choking sobs setting her off as well. He held her ever so tenderly, nudging her neck with his nose, his drenched face matching her own.

“Th-there are happy tears, my love. Happy, wonderful tears…” He sniffled, taking her warmth into his, uncaring – or rather, forgetting – about watching eyes.

“You two keep on playing nice,” Manuela whispered under her breath before getting up to give them some space. She would lecture them about their usual overworking behavior and what to expect during Byleth’s term, but that could wait until they had digested the news.

As per Manuela’s instructions, Byleth and Dimitri _both_ were forbidden of working past usual work hours – after all, if one was seeing working, the other would follow suit. So, no overworking for either of them.

Also, Byleth needed to have a complete nutritional makeover, so the physician had to be kept in constant contact with the royal cook _and_ with the handmaids. Constant walks were recommended, but no more weapon or body training! Riding was also banned, though a slow, short ride could be done _only_ if they were together.

“Professor Manuela being so strict is a sight to behold,” Dimitri commented one evening after they had been scolded about being up late. Byleth giggled, squeezing her hand on his.

“She’s not ‘professor’ anymore, though.”

“Oh,” the King took his free hand to his lips. “You are right as always, my love. Although I wager Manuela would relish on being called 'Professor’ again.”

“Because of her age? My, Dimitri, I never thought you were such a shrewd man…” Byleth teased, enjoying how a shade of red covered her husband’s entire face.

“Now you are simply making fun of me! That will not do.” He cleared his throat, picking his wife up in his arms. Under an 'eek’, Byleth held onto Dimitri’s mantle to her dear life.

“Dimitri! What’s this about-”

“No more walking for you today – time to rest, my adored Queen and mother of my child.” He tried to smirk, but the bubbly happiness in his chest from simply calling Byleth 'mother of his child’ made it look like a foolish grin.

Snorting, the Queen wrapped both arms around her King’s neck, nudging her face on his. “Is that a royal decree, Your Majesty?”

Dimitri adjusted her on his arms, his heart quite literally on fire due to his wife’s teasings. “Why, it very much is.” He chuckled, turning his head ever so slightly to touch her lips with his. “I will be your support through all of this, my love,” he whispered as their lips still touched, his eye comfortably closed. “Through your term; everything. For all eternity.”

Byleth bit his lower lip, their breaths as one. “Then, will you heed a request of mine, O eternal protector?” She whispered solemnly in between kisses, trailing them from his mouth to his cheek and ear, making him shiver where he stood.

“Anything, my Queen.” He huffed, not realizing he had stopped walking since a while ago, distracted by his wife’s adorableness.

Byleth pressed her forehead on his. “Please, I beg you… take me to the kitchen. I’m craving a very specific kind of fish and I think I’ll die if I don’t eat it right this instant.”

“Pfft-bwaha!” Dimitri snorted, then full blown laughed. “Your wish is my command, dear wife!”

Giggling, Byleth strengthened her grip on him as he started running through the halls towards the kitchen. “My hero!”

The sound of their dissolving laughter could be heard through the echoes from the large palace, bringing a smile to its residents’ faces.


End file.
